About 5,000 people celebrated in Des Moines tonight with President-elect Donald Trump.

“I’m here today for one main reason: to say ‘Thank you’ to the great, great people of Iowa,” Trump said, and the crowd cheered. “You went out and you pounded, I mean, pounded the pavement.”

Trump touted his 10-point win in Iowa as “a lot more” than was expected.

“Just to go into this for a second, so we won almost every single county in this state,” Trump said. “…We won one county that wasn’t won since Dwight D. Eisenhower. Anybody know the name of that county?”

A few people in the crowd yelled: “Dubuque,” and Trump replied: “Correct!”

Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to win Dubuque County since 1956. Trump spoke for about 45 minutes, promising to pursue a “buy American, hire American” agenda as president, with tax reform and the repeal of ObamaCare as top agenda items.

“I think you’ll be liking some of the things we’ll be putting forward in the not-too-distant future,” Trump said. “Do you know what I mean? Yes? Do you know what I mean?”

Trump also got cheers from the crowd when he asked if they liked his cabinet choices so far — including his decision to send Iowa Governor Terry Branstad to China as U.S. Ambassador.

“I can’t tell you how many people wanted that position. You know, it’s not bad. You go over there. You live like a king,” Trump said. “But he’s not looking to live like a king. He and his beautiful wife came to my office the other day. They’re willing to work on that relationship.”

Trump cited Branstad’s long-term relationship with the president of China. And Trump offered a litany of thorny issues Branstad will be charged with tackling with the Chinese. Trump complained that China is manipulating the value of its currency. Trump accused China of the “massive theft of intellectual property” from U.S. companies. And Trump blasted China for “not helping with the menace of North Korea.”

“They haven’t played by the rules and I know it’s time that they’re going to start. They’ve going to start. They’ve got to,” Trump said, to cheers. “…We’ve got to play by the rules, folks.”

Trump introduced Branstad to the crowd.

“He’s going to do so great. With Terry on our side, I know we will succeed in bringing our jobs back and I also know the China that’s been so tough and so competitive and frankly, dealing with people that didn’t get it, but I’ll tell you we will have mutual respect and China’s going to benefit and America’s going to benefit,” Trump said, “and Terry’s going to lead the way.”

Branstad offered very brief remarks.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of this state and thanks to our great new president who’s going to make America great again, I am very proud to serve America in this very important role,” Branstad said. “Thank you very much.”

Judy Gray of Titonka drove down for tonight’s rally with five other friends. It’s the first time she’s seen Trump in person.

“I think he’s going to shake some things up and maybe for the better, like even the Air Force One. Why do we have to spend so much?” Gray asked. “Those kind of things — and he’s going to find the cheapest way to get these things that we need.”

Earlier this week, Trump tweeted his displeasure over the price tag for the next Air Force One. Joy Marsh lives in Winnebago, Minnesota, about 20 miles north of the Iowa border. She voted for Trump and although he lost the state of Minnesota, the contest was closer than expected.

“I just wanted to come and see him,” Marsh said. “We had seen George Bush when he was running and we just thought we’d like to see Trump as well. He’s going to be our next president. We can always tell the grandkids.”

Joy Ellis of West Des Moines attended three or four Trump rallies before the Election as well as tonight’s. She voted for Trump on Election Day and watched the election returns into the wee hours of the morning.

“I went to sleep at 1:30, then turned on the TV at 4:30 and went back to sleep feeling very, very safe,” Ellis said.

Ellis is thrilled with the choices Trump is making for his cabinet.

“I think he’s picking good people for the spots he has available,” Ellis said. “I couldn’t have picked better myself.”

Joseph Worrell drove down to Des Moines from Cedar Falls. Worrell said he trusts Trump’s choices.

“He’s a man of discrimination and knowing. He has a lot of experience,” Worrell said. “He can read people pretty well.”

“I’d be very cautious to let somebody in that I don’t fully trust,” Worrell said.

Worrell, who is semi-retired after a career in Silicon Valley, wore the red “Make America Great Again” hat he was sent in the mail after donating to Trump’s campaign.

“Honestly, from the day he announced in Trump Tower, I knew he was going to win,” Worrell said. “I knew he’d have rough times, but he made it and he’ll be a great president — I can tell you that, too.”

Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence has a campaign partner today who is familiar to Republican activists in the state.

“God bless the great state of Iowa!” Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the victor in Iowa’s Caucuses 10 months ago, said as he took the stage near Prole, Iowa, early this afternoon.

Cruz introduced Pence at a campaign rally staged inside a massive machine shed on a farm about a half hour’s drive south of Des Moines.

“This election has been a wild ride,” Cruz said. “It has been something else and we are coming down to the closing stretch and I’ll tell you, the stakes have never been higher for our country.”

Mike Pence

Cruz urged the crowd of about 325 to “throw the bums out” who pushed “ObamaCare” through congress. He drew lengthy cheers and chants of “Lock her up” for joining Donald Trump’s call for a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton.

“There are a lot of politicians that have problems with the truth and even among those Hillary Clinton stands out,” Cruz said, to laughter.

Cruz stressed the importance of electing a Republican president, but Cruz never said Donald Trump’s name. Cruz called Pence a friend and Pence returned the favor when he took the stage. Pence delivered the same upbeat message he’s been stressing at campaign events in Iowa over the past few months.

Chuck Grassley, Mike Pence and Ted Cruz.

“Go vote!” Pence said and the crowd started applauding. “Vote! And bring a friend, bring a couple of friends. Friends don’t let friends vote alone!”

But Pence also peppered his remarks by blasting the media as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton.

“I think the American people have had enough and they’ve especially had enough of the fast and loose ethics of the Clintons for the last 30 years,” Pence said and the crowd started chanting, “Lock her up!” again.

“I know what the American people are going to choose,” Pence said. “I really do. I know it in my heart, but let’s all not take anything for granted.”

Toward the end of the event, during a brief question and answer session with the crowd, a man praised Pence, “for not jumping, bailing out on Donald Trump,” the man said and the crowd applauded. “That shows a person’s character.”

Iowa Congressman Steve King delivered the same message to the crowd as the warm-up speaker for Pence.

“I’m going to ask you: stand together, stand strong, bring Iowans to the polls, let’s get this done, let’s get it done right,” King said. “We’ve only got ’til November 8th. We can sprint that long, can’t we?”

King is “all in” for Trump and he declared Trump the winner of Sunday’s “prize fight” debate with Hillary Clinton. King criticized House Speaker Paul Ryan — the Wisconsin Republican — for saying on Monday that he will no longer defend Trump.

“That call didn’t need to be made…because I hadn’t seen him advocating for Donald Trump up to this point either,” King said. “So I think it hurts a lot and it changed the narrative and the bounce and the spring that would have come from a rousing victory from teh debate Sunday night was diminished.”

Pence did not mention his former House colleague during appearance in Newton. A woman named Rhonda told Pence she’s worried about voter fraud.

“If Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself, I’m ready for a revolution because we can’t have her in,” she said.

Pence replied: “Don’t say that.”

The woman named Rhonda continued: “I’m like Trump. Am I not saying the truth here?”

A few in the crowd clapped.

Pence continued: “There’s a revolution coming on November the 8th, I promise you.”

Pence left Newton and headed to Davenport where he was to speak at the Scott County Republican Party’s annual fundraiser. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is also headlining the event, which often has served as a proving ground for presidential candidates of the future.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill campaigned into Iowa today on behalf of Hillary Clinton. McCaskill said she doesn’t think Americans “are going to elect someone who brags about groping women” as their president.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders addressed a crowd of about 300 at Drake University late this morning, urging his former supporters to vote for his former foe.

“Vote for Hillary Clinton on Election Day and the day after that we are going to roll up our sleeves and make sure that we bring forth the most progressive agenda in the United States of America,” Sanders said, to cheers.

Sanders told the crowd he and Clinton agree on a host of issues, like the need to address climate change and raise the minimum wage.

“Politics is not about personality and I know if you watch the TV and you watch national media, they think that politics is like ‘Dancing with the Stars,'” Sanders said and the crowd laughed. “You know, it’s like the Super Bowl or the World Series. It’s not. It’s not entertainment. What politics is about in a democratic society…is which candidate will have a positive impact on your lives.”

“I would have hoped that in the year 2016 a candidate of a major political party does not make the cornerstone of his campaign bigotry,” Sanders said, to some of the loudest and longest bursts of applause during his speech.

Sanders urged people in the crowd who had supported his candidacy to vote for a president who “brings us together, not divides us up.”

“I ask people to go beyond personality,” Sanders said. “Look at the issues that impact you…Worry about yourself. Worry about your families and if you look at the candidates issue by issue you will find that Secretary Clinton has a progressive agenda,” Sanders said.

Giada Morresi, a Drake student from Illinois, was in the crowd, wearing a t-shirt that had the name “Bernie” on it. She said Sanders “made a good case,” but she won’t vote for Clinton.

“Just her past record and the things she’s done, I don’t think that outweighs any promises that she could make,” Morresi said. “And I think that the fact that she’s changed so many of her opinions isn’t convincing enough.”

Gina Folsom of Cambridge supported Sanders in the Iowa Caucuses and wore a Sanders campaign t-shirt to the rally, too. She will vote for Clinton, though, and Folsom suggested Sanders backers who refuse to vote for Clinton will “reap what they sow.”

“I think they’re thinking more of themselves and how they want to remain pure if they vote for a third party (candidate), not that people never should, but I mean right now we have so much at stake we can’t do that,” Folsom said.

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee issued a written statement, saying Clinton has a “millennial problem” and is “desperate to convince young people to trust her” so that’s why she’s dispatched people like Sanders to visit college campuses in Iowa.

The two presidential candidates who stood on a debate stage in New York Monday night are headed to Iowa. Donald Trump will headline a rally in Council Bluffs this afternoon. Hillary Clinton will be in Des Moines tomorrow to mark the start of “early” voting in Iowa.

Juan Hernandez, a junior at the University of Northern Iowa who is voting for Clinton, said the election seems to be a jump ball.

“A lot of people I know are unsure, so unsure that they’re not going to vote, so that’s kind of scary that they’re wasting their vote,” Hernandez said during a recent interview. “So I’m trying to kind of push them because it’s very important.”

Nonya Bragg of Des Moines and her husband are both Trump voters, but they are nervous, too.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t like either candidate, so they won’t vote for any,” Bragg said Saturday. “I think that’s probably the worst thing that anybody could do.”

Jan Pickerell is a regular volunteer for Clinton at a suburban Des Moines campaign office. During an interview Tuesday, Pickerell said liked Clinton’s “tenor” in Monday night’s debate with Trump.

“My stomach just kind of churns,” she said in describing her response to this year’s election. “…When you have strong passion about what you want to see happen and are fearful of what could happen.”

Joyce Hagen of Hanlontown is among the more than 600 evangelical Christians who gathered in Des Moines last weekend to hear GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. Hagen said she’s a lot more confident than she was a month ago about Trump’s chances.

“I’m just just hoping Trump pulls it through. I’m sure it’s going to be tight all the way up ’til the end,” she said. “…I just hope and pray he does.”

Jan Neal of Ankeny supported Clinton in 2008 and she’s mystified by the polls.

“I find it shocking,” Neal said. “You know I watched the debate. To me it is so clear who’s ready to be president and who’s not.”

Darrell Rogers of Oskaloosa supported Ted Cruz in this year’s Iowa Caucuses, but he’s voting for Trump this fall.

“To be completely honest, I’m scared to death,” Rogers said this past weekend. “If Trump doesn’t get in, I think our country will not survive.”

As engaged as some Iowans may be in this year’s election, there are others who aren’t. Twenty-one-year-old Jazmine Alaniz of Des Moines has never voted and doesn’t plan to this year.

“If it’s that important to you, then go for it,” said Alaniz, who is a student at Des Moines Area Community College. “I’m not saying it’s not important. For me, I just don’t know too much about it.”

Alaniz gets her news from Facebook and Alanix said she’s seen nothing there about the candidates or the election.

A new poll finds Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton in Iowa by six points.

Quinnipiac University pollsters also quizzed likely voters about four presidential candidates — Trump, Clinton, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and the Green Party nominee. In that four-way race, Johnson, the Libertarian, got 10 percent support, Jill Stein of the Green Party got two percent and Trump’s lead over Clinton stretched to seven points.

The Quinnipiac Poll taken in Iowa a month ago showed Clinton with a two-point lead here.

Digging into other data in this new poll, Trump has an overwhelming 26 point lead among Iowa voters who are men. Clinton has a 10 point lead among women voters in Iowa. Peter Brown, the poll’s assistant director, says Trump is “running better in Iowa than other Midwestern states.”

Trump has a slight lead here among “no-party” or independent voters. Independents are the largest voting block in Iowa. The poll found 86 percent of Iowa Republicans backing Trump, while Clinton had the backing of 83 percent of Democrats.

Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann said Trump is “solidifying” his support among Republicans who backed other candidates in the Caucuses.

“The enthusiasm that I’m seeing out there is at a level that I did not see, quite frankly, with McCain or with Mitt Romney,” Kaufmann told Radio Iowa.

Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, spoke with Iowa reporters by phone four hours before the poll was released. He called Iowa a “battleground state.”

“Iowa could absolutely be the state that gets Hillary over the 270 mark (in the Electoral College),” Mook said. “…We run thousands of scenarios each night here on the campaign to look at where states stack up and Iowa continues to be right at the heart of those pivotal states.”

The Clinton campaign is identifying occasional voters, mapping out if they live close enough to the county auditor’s office or a “satellite voting” location to cast their ballot in person, but before November 8. Absentee vote-by-mail is an option touted to other infrequent voters.

“Targeting different voters to make sure that we’re offering them the easiest way to go vote,” Mook said.

Kaufmann said 2014 was a “transformational year” for the GOP, as the party stopped resisting and began an “early voting” push.

“We are doing everything we did then, then probably hundreds of thousands of dollars more,” Kaufmann said.

Early voting begins next week in Iowa, on Thursday, September 29.

This month’s Quinnipiac University Poll in Iowa has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent. In a two-person match-up in Iowa, Trump had 50 percent compared to Clinton’s 44 percent. In a four-way race, Trump had 44 percent; Clinton had 37 percent; Johnson had 10 percent and Stein had two percent.

Two of three Ron Paul campaign aides found guilty of secretly funnelling campaign money to a former Iowa legislator have been sentenced to six months home confinement, but no jail time.

Jesse Benton was the chairman of Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign. He’s also married to the candidate’s granddaughter. Both Benton and the manager of Ron Paul’s campaign have been sentenced to two years probation for the scheme and each must pay a 10,000 dollar fine.

This case revolves around former state Senator Kent Sorenson of Milo. Sorenson was chairman of Michele Bachmann’s 2012 Iowa campaign, but Sorenson switched his support to Ron Paul just before the Caucuses. Sorenson testified he that made the jump after the Paul camp offered to find a way to secretly pay him thousands of dollars. Prosecutors say Benton and two other Ron Paul campaign officials conspired to pay Sorenson $73,000. They routed checks through two other companies before Sorenson got the money.

A third man who was Ron Paul’s deputy campaign manager is to be sentenced tomorrow morning.

Sorenson initially complained he was the subject of a “witch hunt” when a state senate committee began investigating the allegations. He resigned from the state senate in October of 2013. He eventually pleaded guilty on federal charges and testified in court against the three Ron Paul staffers. Sorenson has not yet been sentenced. Sorenson violated senate ethics rules by being paid by a presidential campaign.

Prosecutors say Ron Paul’s campaign aides committed a crime by submitting false financial disclosure documents that hid how the payments were being made to Sorenson.

Governor Terry Branstad’s son is state director for Trump’s campaign and Branstad has been urging Iowa Republicans to unite behind Trump since May.

“I traveled with (Trump) from the Des Moines airport to the ‘Roast and Ride’ event for Joni Ernst and he specifically mentioned in his speech that he supports keeping the Iowa Caucuses first,” Branstad said.

Branstad told reporters this morning he is “very concerned” about Clinton’s position on the Caucuses.

“And she has not made it clear that she supports keeping the Iowa Caucuses first,” Branstad said during his weekly news conference.

Two hours after Branstad’s comments, a spokeswoman for Clinton’s campaign issued a statement, saying: “Hillary Clinton has and will continue to support Iowa’s first in the nation status.”

Trump finished second in Iowa’s Caucuses. A few days later Trump accused caucus winner Ted Cruz of committing “fraud” and Trump asked for either a “new election” in Iowa or for the Caucus results to be “nullified.” In speeches in Iowa over the past couple of months, Trump has said he prefer primaries to caucuses, too.

Branstad told reporters he’s “concerned” Clinton’s loss in Iowa’s 2008 Caucuses and her virtual tie with Bernie Sanders in 2016 have soured her on Iowa’s lead-off status in the presidential selection process.

“Iowa has embarrassed her and Iowa has been a problem for her again and again and again,” Branstad said. “…It’s obvious that I think she’s got an Iowa problem.”

The Iowa Democratic Party’s executive director issued a written statement early this afternoon, calling Branstad’s statements “ridiculous” and he suggested Branstad “has decided to join Donald Trump by embracing conspiracy theories that have no basis.”

Some recent polls show Donald Trump edging out in front of Hillary Clinton in Iowa. Drake University political science professor Rachel Caufield says there seem to be “after effects” of Clinton’s battle with Bernie Sanders.

“The public conversation has not been fully attentive to exactly how divisive the Democratic primary process really was,” Caufield says.

The Iowa Caucuses help develop a “vast network” of activists who have strong opinions, according to Caufield.

“When you have…this intensely local organizing structure where different ideological stripes can find a home, I think what that means is it is somewhat harder to unify when it comes time to say: ‘This is our person,'” Caufield says.

A RABA Research poll released Monday found Trump leading Clinton by one point in Iowa. On Friday, analyst Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight blog gave Trump a nearly 62 percent chance of winning Iowa. Professor Caufield says Iowa is among the “most competitive” swing states in the country, but Clinton has ground to make up.

“That divide in the Democratic Party, it means there are a lot of Democrats out there that are simply not enthused by the top of the ticket,” she says.

Brad Anderson was the state director of President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and he endorsed Clinton before the Iowa Caucuses.

“Polling is addictive…Like all addictive products, like tobacco, it should come with a warning, that this is just a snapshot in time,” Anderson says.

Anderson is now a partner in RABA Research. The bipartisan firm released a poll this past week showing Trump leading Clinton by a point in Iowa.

“There’s still a lot of time left on the clock,” Anderson says.

Anderson says Trump has a significant lead over Clinton among non-college-educated voters who feel “left behind” in this economy.

“President Obama really hasn’t gotten engaged in this campaign yet and that’s going to change,” Anderson says. “I think we’re going to see him come to Iowa and make the case for why people who are concerned about income inequality should support Secretary Clinton.”

Stineman says the data shows Trump, not Clinton, seems to be consolidating support among the party faithful.

“The assumption coming out of the conventions was that was going to be more of a challenge for Donald Trump and that was going to be something that Hillary Clinton would have in the bag,” Stineman says. “The numbers that I’ve been seeing show that actually the inverse is true and that trump has brought home many more Republicans than expected and Hillary’s actually struggling to bring home her base.”

Stineman says Trump is a candidate who — unlike previous Republican nominees — seems to be “tapping into” a more important voting block in Iowa: independents.

“If the independent voters are ripe for the taking for Trump and there’s a bigger pool here — there are more registered independents in Iowa than there are for either party — that’s an interesting dynamic for Trump where he can more than make up for any kind of base enthusiasm issue he might have with your more business-oriented Republicans who aren’t fans of his policies,” Stineman says.

Stineman, Anderson and Caufield made their comments during recent appearances on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program.

Democratic Party vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is due to campaign in Ames on Monday. Mike Pence, the GOP’s vice presidential nominee, will campaign in Mason City the same day.

Donald Trump repeatedly mentions his support for corn-based ethanol fuel during his speeches in Iowa, but on Thursday his campaign website briefly called for getting rid of regulations that are part of the federal ethanol production mandate.

The Trump campaign has called the post an error.

A fact sheet posted on Trump’s website initially called for getting rid of a credit system that’s called RIN. It lets refiners that do not meet renewable fuel production requirements buy or trade with other refiners for those credits. That helps them meet the production mandate.

The original Trump post said it was among the regulations Trump wanted to repeal as president, because it penalizes small and medium-sized refineries that do not meet the biofuel production standard. The fact sheet was edited. References to the ethanol credit program were deleted.

Eric Branstad, state director for Trump’s campaign, worked for a renewable fuels industry PAC during the Iowa Caucus campaign and Branstad’s father, Governor Terry Branstad, has been a long-time and active advocate of the RFS.